Report: Illegal Immigrants $18 billion boost to Texas

The Texan economy would be $18 billion poorer without illegal immigrants in the last year, says the report by the state comptroller.

The report -- billed as the first detailed look by a state at the impact of undocumented immigrants on its budget -- is likely to stir further debate on the emotional issue of illegal immigration in the United States.

The report says removing illegal migrants from the state would lead to a tighter labor market and higher wages.

"Without the undocumented immigrant population, Texas' workforce would decrease by 6.3 percent. ... The most significant impact would be a noticeable tightening in labor markets," the report says.

"This tightening would induce increases in wages. ... While pay increases can be viewed as a positive social and economic development, when they rise due to labor shortages they affect economic competitiveness. In this case, it would be expressed as a modest decline in the value of Texas' exports," it adds.

According to Strayhorn, "Undocumented immigrants produced $1.58 billion in state revenues, which exceeded the $1.16 billion in state services they received. However, local governments bore the burden of $1.44 billion in uncompensated health care costs and local law enforcement costs not paid for by the state."